Sweden’s Operators Report $2.6B in Turnover for 2023

The Spelinspektionen, Sweden’s gambling regulator, has posted data about the regulated Swedish gambling market’s performance in 2023. According to the preliminary results, metrics remained mostly stable, with licensed gambling companies reporting a total turnover of SEK 27.1 billion ($2.6 billion).

The turnover figure is more or less in line with the total turnover reported in 2022 and represents a decrease of just 1%.

Svenska Spel’s casino brand, Casino Cosmopol, reported a turnover decrease of 11.4%. In the meantime, the state-owned operator’s slot machine brand, Vegas, posted a decrease of 3.6%. The decline, however, was offset by the favorable performance of other licensed products, including public benefit gaming and casino restaurants.

A Breakthrough of Sweden’s Q4 Results

According to the Spelinspektionen, the fourth quarter of 2023 saw Swedish operators collect SEK 7.1 billion ($690 million) in turnover. This figure represents a 3% year-on-year decrease from Q4 2022 when licensed operators posted revenue of SEK 7.25.

Commercial online gambling continued to be the main driver of revenue and was singlehandedly responsible for over half of the total quarterly turnover. According to Spelinspektionen’s quarterly statistics, the vertical brought in almost SEK 4.395 billion ($420 million) in revenue in Q4, slightly up from SEK 4.385 billion in Q4 2022.

State lottery and slots, on the other hand, posted SEK 1.44 billion ($140 million) in revenue, representing a noticeable decline from SEK 1.69 billion in Q4 2022. Casino Cosmopol, meanwhile, reported SEK 92 million ($8.88 million) in turnover, significantly down from the SEK 139 million reported in the prior-year period.

Lotteries’ business fared better, with the sector reporting SEK 1 billion ($97 million) in Q4, a year-on-year increase of 15%. Community games and bingo halls’ revenue remained unchanged at SEK 46 million ($4.4 million). Finally, commercial land-based properties reported a turnover of SEK 56 million ($5.4 million), a slight dip from the SEK 58 million reported a year ago.

The Figures Are Based on Preliminary Data

The Spelinspektionen warned that these figures are preliminary and based on data from the Swedish Tax Agency.

The Swedish authority added that as of December 31, there were 104,000 people who had opted to exclude themselves from gambling via Spelpaus.se, Sweden’s official self-exclusion scheme. According to the gambling watchdog, this figure highlights an increase of 5%.

Speaking of the Spelinspektionen, the regulator’s recent decision to not levy penalties against Infiniza infuriated the regulated gambling industry.